Ben McEvoy - Murray Bushrangers
199cm, 90kg (sizes taken from TAC Cup Record)

Junior position: KP forward/ruckman
Projected AFL position: Ruckman pinch hitting as KP forward

Stengths
Strong hands
Pack marking
Great play reader
Good ground level skills for size

Weaknesses
Pace
Tackling

Question marks
Tall forward or ruck? Good in two positions at junior level but might need to define himself in a certain position to make it at AFL level.

Comments
McEvoy is a highly rated prospect and is regarded in some circles to be the best big man in this draft behind Matthew Kreuzer. Leading up to the Championships he split time between ruck and the forward line for the Bushrangers, but since then he was almost exclusively played forward, kicking 23 goals in the final nine games of the season and only being held goalless once.

He’s got a great set of hands, which along with his strength has been one of his major assets. As with all big bodied players this certainly doesn’t make for a seamless transition up to AFL football. He still has a bit of physical maturing to go and will benefit from the move to senior football as he’s been a man playing amongst boys - it’s probably even overdue that he gets challenged by bodies as big or bigger than his own.

He can kick on his left foot adquately. He’s not exactly dual sided but his left is neat and can get him out of trouble. His disposal by foot and hand is quite good and last season he had a solid converstion rate in front of the goals.

His major weakness is his pace, however he has compensated for this by being smart. He times his leads well, which has hidden his lack of speed - if anything it can trick you into thinking he’s quick off the mark because he took quite a few marks on the lead this season. Smarter and more reactive backmen are unlikely to give him such a lead so this limits the sort of forward line role he could take on at a higher level.

Despite his physical presence he doesn’t provide very much in the way of tackling and will need to improve in his second efforts.

Around the ground his ruckwork is good, but not great. As a pure ruckman his tapwork will get you by but what he offers around the ground will help give him the edge. His ruckwork at throw-ins is better and he understands how to use his body well.

McEvoy is good below his knees, which is a rare trait for someone of his size.

At AFL he projects a ruckman, who can rest deep in the forward line. He’s done a good job leading up in the forward line as a junior but those days are over now. He has a decent frame and if it continues to grow he’ll be good isolated one on one where he can use his strength.

First round - mid to late.

Stats
2007 TAC Cup season
18 games played
28.13
178 kicks (140 of them effective)
109 handballs (96 effective)
260 hitouts
45 contested marks
99 uncontested marks
27 tackles